The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1887-06-02
[American Agriculturist.
Good and Bad Flowing.

Good and Bad Flowing.
Flowing is the foundation of crop
growing Bad blowing cannot be cor
rected, and bad blowing is easier than
good blowing. Holding the plow
handles is not blowing. Unless the
plow cuts uniform width and depth,
the work is not well done. Hence
the plowman must give attention to
his work, watching the course Of his
plow every moment. The good plow-
man holds the handles tightly in his
hands, not rigid, however; throwing
the plow to this side or that, that it
may take more or less land. When it
is said that the plow must cut a
uniform depth, reference is had to
the nature of the land, not to the
holes or mounds made by hogs, ETC.
Good blowing includes plowing to
depth proper for the particular crop
and the particular soil. Some soils are
to be plowed deeper than others;
ground for some crops is to be plowed
deeper than for other crops 1t may
be proper, for instance, to plow sod
land deep or shallow, to invert fully
the furrow or to place it on edge, in
order to suit the plowing to the soil,
the crop to be grown, and the season
of the year. Hence no invariable law
for plowing can be laid down. And
because of this, intelligence and
thought are required of the plowman
who does his work properly. The
wise farmer will put his most intelli-
gent, careful workman at the plow
leaving the narrowing, rolling, etc, to
the boys He will also put in the
plow his team that is best matched in
gait and endurance, and which walks
steadily, for with team made up
of fast walker and slow walker, or
of which one horse lags, or which
does not walk true to the furrow, it is
impossible to do good work. He will
also give the most attention to the
condition of the soil when the plow
is to be put into it; for if the land is
plowed out Of condition, the result is
more serious than if it be narrowed
or rolled out Of condition. Some soils
may be plowed when quite damp;
others only when not damp. Some
may we'll be plowed when the weather
threatens; but to plow some soils just
before heavy rain IS to throw work
away. Also, the time of plowlng
properly depends somewhat on the
crops to be planted on the ground.
If land lies for some time after plow-
ing before wheat is sown, it is all the
better; but corn is always best planted
on fresh land-the sooner after the
the land is plowed and got in order
the better.
Much depends on the plow. The
less hight to which the soil is elevated
by the mold.board, the less the draft.
Some plows have sharply curved, short,
high mold boards; these are hard on
the team and the plowman, and usu-
ally throw the earth higher and
harder than is necessary. For very
stiff soil they are the best, as they
break up the furrow; but for the ma
jority of soils they are not suited, as
they make unnecessary draft and
throw some of the ground in COM
plete circle, leaving the same side up
that was up before. Such plows
throw the sod on edge and break it
into pieces, hence are often preferred
for fall blowing, as they leave the
ground in such condition that the
frost has the a greatest effect, Will
there is the lest danger of the grounde
being made sold by mild wet winter.
For spring plowing of sod, plow
with long, little curved mold board
is best, as it turns the furrow smoothly
upside down, and does not break it.
Hence the ground may be fined and
worked down without bringing sods
to the surface. Such plow is best
for loose, light soils also. The form
Of the mold board must be noted
when the plow is purchased. A good
plow is easily put in such condition
that it will not do good work. If al
lowed to rust it will not turn the
groud well, and is hard to pull out and
hold. Some men throw the plow on
its share~side and drag it from one
field to another, or along the end of
the 'land." This wears off the corner
Of the share, making the plow run
unseady and leaving little ridge Of
ground not turned. Hold the plow
upright when going across the ends of
lands, and have shoes for the plows
when they are to be taken from one
field to another. Blacksmiths often
ruin plows. They draw the point of
the share to one side or down. If a
plow is set on level floor, every point
on the edge Of the share and the edge
Of the land side should touch the floor
Otherwise the point has been drawn
up or down, and the plow will dip"
A line running along the land side
should be straight, not curved; for if
the point stands out Or in the plow
will ''croud" or ''shirk." The beam
of the plow should be short, to bring
the horses nearer the point Of resist
ance but have the whiff1e-trees con-
nected with the beam of the plow by
three or four links, else the horses,
stepping on mound or in a depres-
sion, will jerk the point up or down.